A minke whale on the deck of a Japanese whaling ship in 2014. Japan confirmed more than 300 were captured over the summer, in defiance of a UN legal decision that ruled so-called scientific whaling in the Southern Ocean was a front for commercial hunts.
Photograph: Institute Of Cetacean Research/AFP/Getty Images

Japan has confirmed whales were killed on its most recent “scientific” expedition in the Antarctic region.

Four survey ships from Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research were in the Antarctic region over a period of 115 days from 1 December last year.

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The institute’s report said 333 minke whales were captured, including pregnant females.

The Australian government has described Japan’s decision to resume whaling over the southern hemisphere summer as “deeply disappointing” and says it has raised concerns at the highest level of the Japanese government.

It had said it would consider sending a customs patrol vessel to the Southern Ocean as well as exploring options for legal action.

But conservation group Sea Shepherd said in February that the Japanese fleet had faced little or no scrutiny over the summer and Australia and New Zealand seemed unwilling to send a ship to intercept them.